Third-party gubernatorial candidate Tom Tancredo came out swinging today at Democrat John Hickenlooper.

The ad refers to three-year-old Marten Kudlis, who was in an Aurora Baskin Robbins getting ice cream with his mother when Francis Hernandez, an illegal immigrant, caused a collision at the store killing Kudlis and two women and injuring several others.

Kudlis’ father says: “The illegal alien had been arrested 16 times but never turned over to immigration because of the sanctuary city policies that Mayor Hickenlooper supports. I am sending you Marten’s picture, Mr. Mayor. Try to sleep at night knowing your policy contributed to his death.”

Hickenlooper’s campaign said the Colorado Bureau of Investigation reported Hernandez had been arrested by 8 different police departments in Colorado and another in California. The campaign website has a detailed rebuttal to the ad.

“This case had nothing to do with John, but it’s these kinds of shameful, false attacks that Tom Tancredo has routinely used to grab headlines. His latest attempt to exploit a horrible tragedy to fill his own political coffers is sad, but not surprising,” said spokesman George Merritt.

The Kudlis case prompted a state audit last year, which found police departments in Colorado were largely complying with a 2006 law that requires them to report illegal immigration suspects that they have arrested.

However, the audit said, the law still will not prevent incidents similar to the Kudlis case or increase the number of detained or removed illegal immigrants because local agencies do not have the resources to enforce immigration laws, which are under the purview of the federal government any way.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency frequently does not pick up illegal immigration suspects arrested for only minor crimes, the report said.

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.